News Releases

REF NO.: 99

SUBJECT:

Memorial University seeks provincial input on engagement with the public

DATE:

Jan. 9, 2012

Its an ambitious goal, but in the coming months, Memorial Universitys new Office of Engagement would like to get feedback from a whole lot of people: everyone in Newfoundland and Labrador, if possible! If youve got ideas about engagement at Memorial, theyd like to hear from you.

In the context of the university, engagement means the connections and collaborations that Memorial has with people outside the university, including citizens, organizations, communities, industry and governments. The Office of Engagement was created this past fall to help support engagement activities at Memorial, and to foster a culture of engagement, university-wide.

The first project of the office is the development of an engagement framework, a document that will help set the tone for future engagement activities at Memorial. As a result, the Office of Engagement is interested in hearing from people and organizations across Newfoundland and Labrador.

The office has prepared a short survey to be completed by both members of the public and the Memorial community (students, faculty and staff) about previous experiences engaging with Memorial and ideas for the future. The survey is available online at the Office of Engagements website (www.mun.ca/engagement), and will also be shared through email and the offices social media (www.facebook.ca/officeofengagement on Facebook and @EngageMemorial on Twitter). Responses can be anonymous, but respondents have the option to leave their information for further contact. Survey submissions will be accepted until Friday, Feb. 17.

While Dr. Rob Greenwood, executive director of the Office of Engagement, admits that its pretty unlikely hell get feedback from everyone in the province, he does want to emphasize that all opinions are valid and all ideas are valued.

We really want to engage people openly and creatively in exploring how to build on all the great partnerships Memorial has already. We want the framework to create the conditions for more and better partnerships.

Information and ideas gathered from the survey will be worked into a draft framework document that will then be shared with the public before being finalized later in 2012.

For more information and to include your ideas in the engagement framework process, please visit the Office of Engagement online at www.mun.ca/engagement.